The Architecture of Ottoman The prophet of God in Muslim religion, Muhammad, had prophesied that the first Muslim to pray in Hagia Sophia would go to paradise. Since then, it was a great ambition for Muslim leaders to get Hagia Sophia. The Architecture of the Hagia Sophia The Hagia Sophia is a domed basilica, oriented on the northwest-southeast axis. When the Ottomans captured the city they turned the building into a mosque. Minarets were added and the rich frescos were covered over (because of Islamic prohibitions against depicting human figures). Thus it remained for over 500 years until the Turkish government decided to turn it into a museum and tourist attraction in 1935. Looking at the plan of Hagia Sophia above, one of the most immediate features is the fact that this is not a cruciform church, the standard design in much of the Christian West. This is, instead, a basilica based upon a centralized plan and which evolved from rectangular Roman architectural forms. The central floor measures 220 feet by 250 feet and the four arches around the nave are 70 feet high. Everything about the various elements is designed to draw the eye higher and higher, up to the dome and, presumably, heaven itself.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Jul 2013 13:49:32 +0000
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